Make Your Home Safe

10 Affordable Ways to Make Your Home Safer and Healthier:

Making your home healthier and greener doesn’t have to be expensive, or overwhelming. Just a few changes can improve the health of your home, everyone in it — and the planet it sits on. Some of these are easy fixes. Others challenge us to re-examine a lifetime of habits. Avoiding or limiting exposure to toxic chemicals is at the top of every parent’s list. “Toxic chemicals are everywhere, so exposure is really difficult to avoid,” says Sonya Lunder, MPH, a senior researcher with Environmental Working Group, a nonprofit organization that researches environmental issues. “But there are things people can do to be proactive.” Among the key toxins are lead and pesticides. Studies have linked overexposure to lead and pesticides with brain and central nervous system damage, behavior problems, asthma, cancer, and more. So how can you cut down your exposure to these chemicals and other potential household risks? Here are the top 10 suggestions from WebMD’s experts. (And in some cases, you’ll even save money!)